Ralph G. Nevins

He died October 30, 1974. The Ralph G. Nevins Physiology and Human Environment Award is an annual prize given by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) awarded since 1978 to "young researcher who has distinguished himself in man’s response to the environment, which may include thermal, acoustical, olfactory, microbial or other effects".

In 1973 he accepted the position of Fellow and Head of the Environmental Engineering Group and Member of the Executive Committee of the John B. Pierce Foundation Laboratory, New Haven, Connecticut, a world class environmental research organization. In association with Yale University, he was also a visiting professor of Environmental Technologies.

Nevis won the distinguished alumni and service awards from the University of Illinois in 1970 and 1971. He received the ASHRAE’s Distinguished Service Award.

In 1967 he was promoted to Dean of the College of Engineering at KSU. He published over 60 technical papers in ASHRAE, ASME, ASEE and others.

In 1957 he became chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department. He was the Kansas Power and Light Company Distinguished Professor, 1963-67. In 1961, ASHRAE decided to close its research laboratory, located in Cleveland since 1924, and invited interested organizations to bid on receiving its equipment. Nevins obtained from the state of Kansas $160,000 for a building and a like amount from the National Institutes of Health for installation and operation. He obtained the chamber and promised to carry on research in ASHRAE’s interest for at least five years. The new facility was named the Institute for Environmental Research, and Nevins became its Director. Dozens of the Institute’s students have received the Ralph G. Nevins Award over the years, and more than 10 graduate students and associated KSU faculty members are now ASHRAE Fellows.

Ralph G. Nevins (November 15, 1924 – October 30, 1974) was an American professor of mechanical engineering and Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department and Dean of the College of Engineering at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas.

Nevins was born on November 15, 1924 at Kinsley, Kansas. He grew up in Dodge City, Kansas. He earned BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a PhD in 1973 from the University of Illinois. He spent a year in the military and joined the faculty at Kansas State University as an instructor.